THE UNEDUCATED LITERATES Siddharth21:08 3 comments

                                                      

Often we assume “education” and “literacy” to be synonyms. But the actual deal is, that they are two completely different terms, being defined by a few common words.

Literacy is the basic ability to read and write. Followed by being able to get a degree and a decent job. Education on the other hand is a stable state of making sound decisions about  right or wrong. It is more of a loop - observe, learn, understand, apply, observe.

In fact confucius, philosopher and thinker, saw learning as a process of observation of the subject matter,  be it books, objects or people, followed by reflection, that some how changed a person. The difference however between them is that literacy will teach us how to read a book and education will make us understand the unseen side which the author is trying to convey.

The sad fragment is that India, is a country full of literate nincompoops who have no meaning in life and are running after the materialistic bubble. Education is limited to only  few. We take initiatives to eradicate illiteracy among the poor, why not to remove uneducation among the rich? Why not among the so called well-off families that ask for dowry? Or among the erudite men that rape? Or among the teachers that sexually abuse one of their students?  Female foeticide has exorbitantly reduced in India from 84.5% to 23.7%. since sex determination is banned in India, female foeticide is carried out mainly by rich households who can afford to go to another country to determine the sex of the foetus and come back to abort it. Is this being educated?

It is extremely forlorn to know that it is not the poor or illiterate who contribute to the filthy crimes- it is the rich and the literate, who have the power to hide their contribution.

Literacy is for job, education is for life.

Literacy empowers us to be on the same pedestal as the society. It doesn’t  impart voicing our opinions or even forming them. It doesn’t teach us how to cope up with the loss of someone we love, it doesn’t teach us to us how to love, it doesn’t teach us how to be courteous, it doesn’t teach us how to respect, it doesn’t teach us how to make friends or value relations, it doesn’t teach is how to be humble or approachable, it doesn’t teach us how to be a better person.

Education however instills us to be open to new ideas, beliefs, dreams, hopes. It teaches us that as humans, we are supposed to respect each other and at the same time be self worthy. It teaches us to look beyond gender, race, caste, colour. It teaches everything required for an earnest life. Illiteracy brings us down to a level of poverty, whereas uneducation brings us down to something worse- being immoral.

Literacy teaches a girl to not wear shorts,  however ,education teaches  a boy to respect girls. Literacy teaches how dowry is wrong, education gives the courage to stand against it. Literacy teaches children to respect a teacher and do whatever he/she says, education teaches them that NOBODY, including a teacher, has the right to wrongly touch them. Literacy teaches how sex determination should be banned to avoid female foeticide, education teaches us how a girl is much more than a burden or compulsion and needs to be loved.

Are you  a graduate? Do you think a woman standing with a couple of men is characterless? See! It doesn’t even teach us to be non judgemental or broad minded. It doesn’t teach us anything worth knowing. 

Don’t just read, understand. Don’t just learn, apply. Don’t just hear, listen. Don’t just look, observe. Don’t just say, do. Don’t just expect, change. Don’t just see, feel.

Author : Malvika Kala